There is a certain energy that you feel when you walk up to a venue where the lines are just off the hook long. Tonight at Rod Laver Arena they were massive and the external merch cues were just as long, providing me with a snapshot of just how beloved Hilltop Hoods are. How they appeal to all ages. How parents have brought their children to what is possibly for some their first real taste of live music. For me my introduction to Hilltop Hoods wasn’t through taking my son to a show, bit was him showing me the first band he called his own at the age of ten. If it wasn’t for him sharing his love for them Hilltop Hoods possibly would have remained that radio band and possibly wouldn’t have started my appreciation for Australian Hip Hop, that’s what started it all for me.
Sure, I had heard Hilltop Hoods on Triple J and appreciated their music, the infectious groovy tunes that I tended to turn up and not off. I’m primarily a rock guy, but it took my son at ten years of age to really open my eyes to them and dig into what was more than a band that had a handful of catchy songs. Since 2014’s “Walking Under Stars” Hilltop Hoods have been on my radar, and I have been a major fan ever since. When I think about it, my partners son introducer her to Hilltop Hoods too. It’s funny how we can have these parallel experiences and the roles are reversed with our kids introducing us to new music.
It begs the question how many kids asked their parents to take the to see the band live? Looking at the crowd I’m sure it was quite a few.
Tonight we had two supports, the first being Trials (Daniel Hendle Rankie) who as a one-man performer who brought the spirit of early Hilltop Hoods to the stage. The simple samples and loops layered the structure of his thought-provoking lyrics as well as his bass playing. As a one-man force Trials was an outstanding choice as he engaged the building crowd and set the tone for tonight’s main attraction. Trials is one of those artists that you want to know more about and dive deeper into. I certainly will be in the days and weeks coming.
Trials Galley
Next up was Irish singer/songwriter Maverick Sabre who with his two-piece accompaniment of keyboards and guitars delivered a set of funk infused soul that also leaned into rap and hip hop. Sabre’s set in all honesty wasn’t as engaging as Trials was. While it had showed more diversity stylistically, the energy and vibe of these songs seemed to mellow us more than excite us. In talking to a few people after the show and even after his set many said that they had the opening acts around the wrong way and when I think about it, it would have had a much better flow.
The highlight was Sabre’s reimagined cover of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ which had us all singing along. Now don’t get me wrong as a whole it wasn’t a bad performance by any means, it just seemed a little out of place. Little did I know that I was missing a key factor in all of this, which will be revealed in a moment.
Maverick Sabre Gallery
DJ Total Eclipse lifted the energy of Rod Laver again as he played a series of bangers from the seventies through to mid 2000’s. Pop, rock, rap, rnb it was all there, a set of crowd-pleasing tunes that really did lift us up. There were some questionable fades and cuts, but overall, it was a fun experience.
Since their formation thirty-two years ago Hilltop Hoods have been a force in Australian Hip-Hop, brining it into the homes and hearts of so many. The duo of MC Suffa & Pressure are nothing but unicorns and Hilltop Hoods are Australia’s musical golden unicorn.
Hilltop Hoods are in the House!!!! That is the call and the atmosphere is just electric here at night two of two sold out Melbourne shows for Adelaides Hilltop Hoods. Make some noise Melbourne and that is exactly what we did.
The huge curtain dropped and we were met with a huge shower of confetti and Co2 jets shooting into the air as Hilltop Hoods kicked off their set with ‘Leave Me Lonely’. The production, the energy and the music instantly made you forget the outside world. The combined energy of MC Suffa and Pressure was more intense than a championship aerobics exhibition in the first song. Something they continued to do song after song, hit after hit.
This wasn’t just any show. The live drummer was sensational as were the three brass players and what can be said about DJ Debris who pieced it all together perfectly. ‘Chase That Feeling’ is just as much fun and by now we are all feeling that Hilltop feeling. There simply isn’t anything like it.
“Who wants to hear some old shit?” is the question from the stage as HTH launch into ‘The Nosebleed Section’ which was at capacity tonight too. Anthems like this just seem to bring it all together uniting tonight’s full house.
Female vocalist Nyassa is invited to the stage as we got our first taste of material from “Fall From The Light” album with the title track. Nyassa is the absolute icing on this song live, her beautiful, powerful soul stirring vocals the perfect complement to the firing delivery from MC Suffa and Pressure. Everything about this perfect, precise and executed with flow and purpose. “Fall From The Light” introduced us to Nyassa perfectly as she remained on stage, her presence felt and celebrated. Nyassa continued to contribute her backing vocals throughout the show.
‘1955’ sees tonight’s next guest joining our dynamic Hilltop duo. Montaigne adds an essential element to the song with her contrasting operatic style and range making the song float. Again, execution is everything and this is sublime. Everything feels like a celebration tonight, the energy in the room, the engagement of people with this music is simply incredible. In a room of 15000 you felt like you this show was for you.
Marlon Motlop joins the band for ‘The Gift’ as Rod Laver Arena is lit up by mobile phone lights. Looking back from the stage it’s something when it has full participation is simply stunning. The nostalgic, reflective meaning in this song is with its salute to music of the past and much like what I mentioned earlier in this review how music is passed back and forth between generations and that opens our own identity and discovery. Marlon is the only person I think that can deliver that soul fuelled chef’s kiss and make it even more special than the recoded version.Here is where the penny finally dropped for me regarding opening artist Maverick Sabre and his presence on songs like ‘Won’t Let You Down’ that adds more sauce to the song. I love the reference to the original song by PhD, it’s so much fun. Sabre stays on for ‘Live & Let Go’ and is clearly someone that Hilltop Hoods consider family.
By now you would imagine there couldn’t be anyone else to bring out, but HTH aren’t done yet. Adrian Eagle joins the band for the sing-along, dance-along fun of Clark Griswold, laser displays, people singing at the top of their lungs, this is just so much fun.
Illy comes to the stage for ‘Exit Sign’ which continues to ramp up the energy and if I haven’t mentioned it for a bit Suffa & Pressure haven’t lost a bit of energy. The spring and bounce in their steps seem to be building. The chorus of ‘Exit Sign’ is the ultimate sing-along and the crowd does not disappoint yet again.
Amongst the energy and madness of tonight Pressure asked Rod Laver Arena did we want to play a game? The roaring response was yes. Only we hadn’t been told what the game was. It was more of a challenge than a game I guess as we were all asked to remove one item from ourselves and wave it in the air. My jacket was conservative to say the least, there were shirts, hats, shoes, underwear and even a prosthetic leg a friend proudly waved in the air to the shock of security and punters alike. So, I guess the game was what were you willing to take off. Completely harmless fun, but I could imagine there was so much more hoisted into the air than I could identify from where I was.
Nyassa features again on the tongue in cheek ‘Don’t Happy, Be Worry’, ‘Something Bigger’, the brilliant ‘Higher’ in which we were all asked if we wanted to get high. But it is the beautiful ‘Through The Dark’ that hits hard. What a song and tonight what a performance. If you didn’t connect with this, you needed your pulse checked. Honestly it is probably the highlight of the set tonight.
The energy seems to lift again to a higher frequency as you can feel that we are on the home straight now. The cast of guests are all back on stage for ‘Never Coming Home’, the lasers are putting on one hell of a show and the love in the room is thick and unmissable. There is nothing that isn’t delivered here, it is complete sensory overload in the best possible way.
Closing out the set is ‘Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom’ the final climatic moment that pushes everything to release. A perfect end to a perfect set. But we aren’t done yet as Hilltop Hoods return to the stage for the final encores. ‘Still Standing’ takes us back to 2009 and it still delivers; it works so well as an opening encore. There is one song that is missing, the one that started it all, the phenomenon that is Hilltop Hoods and the song that made me pay attention and hooked my son ‘Cosby Sweater’. By this stage I strugged to see over the waving arms and bouncing bodies but there was something so euphoric about being in the middle of all this amazing energy. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see, I sung every word and lost myself in everything I was present in. The confetti, the streamers, the lasers, the music and the love in the room.
Suffa and Pressure thanks Melbourne for two sold out nights telling us we were all crazy in a great way and that there is always something extra with a Melbourne crowd and tonight I walked away gobsmacked and completely blown away. This was a truly special show and one I will remember for a very long time.
In all the magic of this show I must keep in mind that I am yet to hear of Hilltop Hoods delivering anything but a stellar show ever, if anything they will struggle to top this show. Mind you I’m sure that has been said before and somehow, they manage to do it better with every tour. Tonight, Hilltop Hoods delivered a show with so much energy, so much heart and so much soul. The infectious nature of these guys as performers and the music they make simply makes you wanna dance, sing and leave everything that is going on in life outside. It’s like walking into another dimension, an alternate universe. It’s the party that you never want to end.
I know I speak with so much praise for Hilltop Hoods, and I do it because after thirty-two years it could be easy to become complaisant, dial stuff in and go through the motions. What MC Suffa and Pressure have done and still do to this very day is given their everything to every show, it’s as if it’s their first show and their last show all thrown into one. Their energy is relentless. I’m exhausted so I can only imagine how they are going to feel after the adrenaline wears off.
In short go and see Hilltop Hoods live wherever and whenever you can, there are a couple of dates left on the Never Going Home Tour and I highly recommend getting to one of them.
Setlist : Leave Me Lonely Pt.1, Leave Me Lonely pt.2, Chase That Feeling, Nosebleed Section, Fall From The Light, 1955, The Gift Pt.1, The Gift Pt.2, I Love It, Won’t Let You Down, Live & Let Go, Clark Griswold, Exit Sign, Don’t Happy Be Worry, Something Bigger Than This, Higher/Reprise/Through The Dark, Never Coming Home, Rattling The Keys Pt.1, Rattling The Keys Pt.2
Encore : Still Standing, Cosby Sweater
Photos by Shot By Slaidins Photography
With special thanks to On The Map for the media access.